Coded-card reader



June 14, 1960 Filed Aug. 6, 1958 G. N. WILLIS CODED-CARD READER FIG! 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,3 PP ilRAki I 14 PROGRAM -n 10 i /]3 a PROGRAM 111 u k I2 INVENTOR. GRANT N. WILLIS ATTIO RN EY A wwwww June 14, 1960 e. N. WILLIS 2,941,054

CODED-CARD READER Filed Aug. 6. 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

GRANT N. WI LLIS WWW ATTORNEY June 14, 1960 r G. N. WILLIS 2,941,054

CODED-CARD READER Filed Aug. 6, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.6

l. INVENTOR. GRANT N. wmus ATTORNEY United States Patent'Q CODED-CARD READER Grant N. Willis, Bristol, Conn, assignor, by mesne assignments, to United-Carr Fastener Corporation, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 6, 1958, Ser. No. 753,475

12 Claims. (Cl. 200-46) This invention relates to a multiple-contact connector, and more especially to a reader or deciphering apparatus having utility in one exemplification as a reader for coded cards as, for example, one having a conductive pattern thereon whereby interconnections are provided from selected terminations on the reader to predetermined points on the conductive pattern.

While there are various environments in which the multiple-contact connector has utility, a specific example thereof is its use in conjunction With a subscriber television network. In this setting, it will function as a reader of code'd cards which may have a program listing printed on one side thereof and a metallic conductive pattern imposed on the reverse side which corresponds with the program listing. The subscriber will be supplied with cards, each of which will cover a predetermined time period; and to select a program, he will simply insert the card into the reader and align the desired program with indexing indicia-on the reader. The reader may either be an integral part of the television receiver or an attachment for use therewith, and will establish connection with the appropriate portions of the metallic pattern which correspond to the selected program. It will be apparent that an electronic decoder or unscrambler must be operatively associated with the reader, for the transmitted television program (that is, the video and audio signals) will be accompaniedby an interference signal to prevent intelligent reception of the program except by the subscribers therefor. The instant invention is concerned With the reader per 'se, and notwith the electrical apparatus which necessarily will be used therewith.

An object of the present invention is to provide a multiple-contact connector which may be employed as a coded card reader adapted for use as described above. Another object of the invention is in the provision of reader apparatus characterized by affording permanent or fixed connections with any electrical apparatus to be used therewith. Still another object is that of providing a reader which will establish good electrical connection with the metallic pattern on a coded card, but will not unduly wear ed the pattern (which is relatively thin by reason of economic necessity) during repeated insertion and removal of the card from the reader.

Yet another object is to provide a reader with contact fingers which will make a brush-type contact with the metallic pattern, which exert a contact prmsure of a relatively small, predetermined magnitude upon the pattern, and which will neither destroy the pattern nor be damaged themselves if the card is incorrectly inserted.

A-further object is that of providing reader apparatus for making point connections with a printed metallic pattern on a coded card, and which comprises multiple rows of small contact fingers electrically isolated from each other, but which are individually connected with the conductors of a printed wire panel-the reader being a small, compact unit of simplified construction susceptible to practicable fabrication in accordance with mass production techniques. Additional objects and advantages of Patented une 14, 1960 ice the line 44 of Figure 2, but in which parts of the apparatus are shown in elevation; Figure 5 isla transverse sectional view of the apparatus taken generally along the line 55 of Figure 1; Figure dis a broken plan view of the bottom or underside of thecoded card illustrated in Figure 2; Figure 7 is a broken top plan view of a contact block; and Figure Sis a broken bottom plan view of the block. p a

Figure 2 illustrates the combination of the reader apparatus and coded card which are designated, rmpectively, -with the numerals 10 and 1-1. In the exemplary card shown, the face thereof has a program listing printed thereon, which comprises essentially a vertically arranged row 12 of separate programs 13. Along each program 13 is an indicia or locator mark 14 which may be used in properly aligning the card in the reader,.as described more fully hereinafter. If reference is made to-Figure 6, it will be seen that the reverse side of the card 11 has a metallic or conductive pattern 16 provided thereon, which is comprised of a plurality ofindividual point conductors or separatedcontacts 17, certain of which may be interconnected by conductors 18.

The card 11 may be formed of paper or other electric insulating material for the specific illustration of pattern 16. The card 11 may be about the thickness of a postcard, and the pattern may be conveniently printed thereon. Similarly, the program listing on the face of the card;may be printed. The various conductors of the pattern- 16 will be arranged so as to establish connection with at least certain of the contact fingers provided by the reader 10, as will be described hereinaftenand are oriented in such a manner that when the card is properly inserted into the reader and the selected program aligned with the indicia provided thereby, reception-of the subscribed program will be efiectuated- The reader 10 in the" specific arrangement shown in the drawings is equipped with a transparent panel 19 that maybe formed of plexiglass or other suitable material, and which is alfixed toa frame 20 by a plurality of nut and bolt assemblies 21.-= To facilitate proper positioning of the transparent panel on the frame, the panel may be formed with apertures therein adapted to receive alignment pins 22 and 23 provided by the frame. emplary indexing arrangement'is provided by the panel 19, and is in the form of a line 24extending longitudinally thereacross with which the selected program on the front of the card 11 may be aligneds .It will be appreciated that other indexing arrangements may be employed, and the only requisite is that it define a predetermined relationship between the contact fingers of the reader and the appropriate conductors in the pattern 16, when the selected programs are related thereto.

The frame 29 is comprised of a plurality of contact or terminal blocks 25, 26 and 27 and cover plate 28 that may be held'in juxtapostion by U-shaped clips 29 and 39 and/or by a nut and bolt assembly 31. The block 25 is equipped with a plurality, of contact fingers 32 that define a row extending longitudinally thereacross;

and similarly, the blocks 26 and 27 have'rows of contact An ex- 7 rows has t'v 'veiity-eight 'coiitacts so that there are attotal of eighty-four in the reader. 7 7 l i Interconnected with the contact blocks, and more 1mportantly with the fingers thereof, are printed wire. c ralong. atrleast one side thereot with printed conductors '38, 39 and, respectively, The various conductors w ll establish contact with the finger's $2 through 34 by frictional ehgagementtherewith; It be apparent that the panels-may have circuit elements 41 through 44 mounted thereon-Which,- ofi'course, are connected to the various armed conductors. The panels are slidable into the position oi 'intere'ngagement with the various contact fingers, as shown'in Figured; and if desired, nut and bolt assemblies 45 may extend through the hlocks 25 through V is 'fqr the p'urpose' of c la'nipin'g'the same-together ad- 'ja eiit; the pahels'to lock the same in position. Prefer-.

withthe undersurface of, the indexing panel 19; and when a coded card 11 has been inserted beneath the panel,

the contact end portions engage the conductors 17 thereon as shown in Figure 4. Adjacent the opposite ends, the contacts are turned laterally to define a friction knee 6%) that engages and thereby makes electrical connection with the printed conductors on the various 611'- cuit panels 35 ,through 37. Outwardlyl of the friction panel and thereby resiliently 'furges 'thetfri'ction knee knee 60, each contact'has a slightly arcuateend 61 that rides on the upper s'urface of the adjacent printed circuit thereof into tight engagement with the printed conductors of the nextpanel, V a v 7 Thus, the turned end'61 'ot aencomact 34'rides on the printed circuit panel '3'6Tandbiases1the trictioniknee into engagement withcth'e conduct'ors of the panel 37} Similarly', the tend'61 of each contact 33 rides on the panel aoly, the panels-willhave recesses formed therein so thatj'tlicy can he released from the reader simply by" t loosening the-bolts 45 rather than by removing the same.

"The block's ZS through 27 are substantially identical; 7

and as is evident from Figures 5,7 and 8 each'block has. a

V pluralityiof channels 46' that extend transversely there across and are oriented'in'parallel relation along one 7 side of the panel. The channelsterminate at each end thereof in open slots 47 and 48, and each channel has a contact finger pt'fsitioned therein. Extending across the 1 channels 46 is an elongated recess 49 that is interrupted at a point 'dficenter thereof as shown at 50. t Extending longitudinally across the other face of the block is a rib 5 1,'which isparallel to the recess 49 and is 'also interrupted as shown'at 52; The rib 51 while parallel to the recess 49, is offset therefrom'in the direction of the V slotted ensures the channels. nnis of-one block 1 isadapted toseatwithin the-recess oftheblocl; adjacent thereto as shown in Figure 5, and the interrupted areas of both-the recesses and ribs serve to polarize or orient the blocks in a longitudinal sense with respect to each other.

1 The blocks each have a laterally turned longitudinal edgeportioii 53 along the slotted ends 48 of the channels, and' 'su'ch turnedtedge portions'may be equipped with a spacer 54 int-general alignment with the interrupted area 59 or the recess 49, which serves to impose' a'eondition t of, separation uponthe'facing end portions of contigudisposed 'atuaif'even greater angle with respect to the indexing plate: As' a consequence, the printed panels a 35, 36 and 37 which are: disposed between the respectively paired blockstdiverge outwardly from each other (as FiguretS makes evident) so as to afford sufficient space-between the'pa'nels to permit theniounting'of circuit elements suchas 41 through 44 thereon," while at the sametime defining a co mpac't; close-together disposition at their connection with the contact' blocks;

and biases the iriction knee againstj the conductors P 3 I -the se tft e' me ends 6 bf t e acts 2; the sr ns. P t si s tr nsl s h k it may ride, andtheretore the; contact block ZS has a prot n e e ti ss zia in which l'tt d nd an bear and thereby resiliently urge the 'friction knees against' the conductorsof panel 3 5. I l c v V v Each c ontact intermediate the'endsIthereof'shas. a bowed thortionfii? thatseatswithinthe; recess 4% The contacts forconvenience in assembling-the contact'fingers,

etc.', are locked within the channels therefor prior to the assembly of the blocks. This locking is accomplished in a staking operation, wherein a heated punch is pressed down against the bowedportion 63 of the contact after the insertion theredf'into the appropriate groove to hack a small amount of the block material the recess,

I i whereupon the bowed portion of the contact is"pressed the-material again solidifies;

-andi for identification the" staked areas confining 'the aThe coverlblock 28 is' very similar to the blocks'25 through 27, except that it need not beprovided with slotted channels 46'along the outerface thereof; and if desired, may have a finishing'rib 55 extending across;

such surface and dished areas- '56 also provided there along, While the undersurface of the contact'b1ock 25 ma be identical with thoseof the block s 2 6 -and 27;, it may have enlarged finishing-ribs 57 and 58 exteiiding th'ereacross t l 7 The contacts 32"throiigh 34' are elongated elements I a that have" a turned or curved end portion 59 that ex- 7 teiidsoutwardly beyond the slotted end 47 'of the channels iifi." gNon'naiiy,-ttresethrned ends 59 are in bumiefit thin metalliclsilver):pattern I6.-

thereinto and thereafter heldin such position when n t t The contacts after such securance thereof to the blocks is shown in Figure 7,

contacts are" denoted with the numeral 64.

The material comprising the contact blocks and cover block is preferably a thermoplastic such"as acrylonitrilernethylstyrene which has excellent stability andstrength upto'at'emperature'of about 212 F. The contacts are formed of a suitable spring wire, preferably of circular cross section; and maybe of a nickel-silver composition having a diameter of approximately .0125 inch which will atfor'd the'optimum force against th e coded card lLpThe ends 59 of'the'c'onta'cts have a somewhat oval Econfighrationfto enlarge' 'the 'surface area thereof in intimatecontact with the coded card 1 1; and thus' eliminate the possibility of the contact cutting a groove into the The conta'cts are freelytdeflectible within thegr'oove's therefor since the-grooves: gradually increase in depth toward the slotted ends'47' thereofr shown in Figure 5; i Thus, the contacts are supported for deflection at a point remote from the curved ends 59 thereof; and in a Ispeci fic embodimeiitof the invention, the contacts are supported at a'poin't .875'inch from the point of engagenient of the curved end 5 with the coded card 11. Such contacts also had anangle olf'about'50 from the plane of the ind'ex plate "19; In certairi environrrients, it is believed that the ideal working characteristics of the contact; will involve a" deflection of approximately 1 070 inch, and that with such deflection the contacts will exert a force of approximatelyeight ounces against the codeclcard a :5 v

: In use or the reader the environment described, it

7 'Will form apart at a Cqmpdsite structure the printed wire panels 35,- 36 and 37 "will be permanently con-- nected th'ereto and will define'the appropriateelectronic decoding arrangement necessarily used reader. The interconnectioii of the reader and panels be permanent in the; sense that'it will not'be necessary to remove the reader-er; conversely, any of the panels therefrom except for" maintenance purposes." "The coded cards 11 are inserted into the reader beneath the index panel 19 fi'om-right to left as viewed in Figure 5. The contacts will be depressed or deflected by the insertion of the card, and in attempting to restore themselves to their original state will apply an upwardly directed frictional force'againstthe patternconductors 17 aligned therewith and thereby electrically connect the same to the printed circuit panels 35 through 37. The appropriate conductors 17 are properly aligned with the contacts 32 through 34 by indexing the card to the selected igtion with reference to the index indicia on the panel While in the foregoing specification an embodiment of the invention has been set forth in considerable detail for purposes of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes may be made in those details without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. In reader apparatus of the character described, a plurality of contact blocks each having a plurality of spaced apart, parallel channels extending thereacross, a spring contact in each of said channels and being provided with a turned end portion extending outwardly therefrom, said contacts being deflectible within said channels to vary the position of the turned end portions thereof, said contacts adjacent the other ends thereof being adapted to engage the conductors of a printed wire panel to establish electrical connection therewith, means for securing said blocks to each other in juxtaposition with the channels thereof in overlying, parallel relation, and means for maintaining a coded card in position with respect to said contacts such that the contacts are deflected and thereby resiliently engage portions of the conductor pattern on the card.

2. In apparatus for reading coded cards and the like having electrical conductor patterns on a side thereof, a plurality of contact blocks of substantially similar configuration secured one to another in overlying juxtaposition, each of said blocks having a plurality of generally parallel channels formed therein, said channels being -respectively aligned in overlying parallel relation from block to block, an elongated contact in each of said channels whereby a plurality of adjacent parallel rows thereof are provided, means securing each of said contacts within the channel therefor, said contacts each having an arcuate end portion for establishing connec tion with the conductor pattern of such card, and means for confining a coded card against the arcuate end portions of said contacts to efiectuate an electrical connection of the conductor pattern thereof with the contacts.

3. In apparaus for reading coded cards and the like having an electrical conductor pattern on a side thereof, a plurality of contact blocks of substantially similar configuration secured one to another in overlying juxtaposition, each of said blocks having a plurality of generally parallel channels formed therein and terminating at each end in open slots, said channels of the respective blocks being oriented in overlying parallel alignment, a contact finger in each of said channels whereby a plurality of adjacent rows thereof are provided, each of said contact fingers having an arcuate end portion extending outwardly beyond the blocks for engagement with the conductor pattern on such coded card, said blocks adjacent the opposite ends of said contact fingers having spaced surfaces for receiving printed wire panels therebetween, and a friction knee provided by each of said contacts for engagement with the conductors on such printed wire panels.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which each of said channels increases in depth toward the arcuate ends of the contacts to afford relatively free deflection thereof.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 in which the respectively adjacent surfaces of the panel-receiving end portions of said contact blocks areang ularly disposed with respect to .each other to define a convergence of such panels toward said blocks.

6. In apparatus for reading coded cards and the like having an electrical conductor pattern on a side thereof, a plurality of contact blocks of substantially similar configuration secured one to another in overlying juxtaposition, each' of said blockshaving a plurality of generally parallel channels formed therein and terminating at each end in open slots, said channels of the respective blocks being oriented in overlying parallel relation, a contact finger in each of said channels whereby a plurality of adjacent rows thereof are provided, each of said contact fingers having an arcuate end portion extending beyond said blocks, and an indexing panel secured to said blocks in covering relation with the arcuate ends of said fingers whereby a coded card inserted thereunder is frictionally engaged by said contact fingers, each of said contact fingers being provided adjacent the opposite end thereof with a friction knee engageable with the conductors on a printed wire panel.

7. In apparatus for reading coded cards and the like having an electrical conductor pattern on a side thereof, a plurality of contact blocks of substantially similar configuration secured one to another in overlying juxtaposition, each of said blocks having a plurality of generally parallel channels formed therein terminating at each end in open slots, each block having also an elongated recess on one side thereof extending across said channels and an elongated rib on the other side thereof disposed in parallel relation with said recess and being seated within the recess of the block adjacent thereto, said recesses and ribs having an olf-center interrupted portion intermediate the ends thereof to orient the blocks in a predetermined juxtaposition in which the channels thereof are in overlying parallel alignment, a contact finger in each of said channels whereby a plurality of adjacent parallel rows thereof are provided, each of said contact fingers having an arcuate end portion extending beyond said blocks, and an indexing panel secured to said blocks in covering relation with the arcuate ends of said fingers whereby a coded card inserted thereunder is frictionally engaged :by said contact fingers, each of said contact fingers being provided adjacent the opposite end thereof with a friction knee engageable with the conductors on a printed wire panel.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 in which said arcuate end portions of the contact fingers have a generally oval configuration.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 in which each of said contact fingers has a \bowed portion intermediate the ends thereof seated within the recess of the block there- 7 for, and in which each contact is secured to the block the recess thereof to facilitate assembly of the blocks one to another.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 in which said blocks have laterally turned longitudinal edge portions adjacent said friction knees adapted to receive printed wire panels between the adjacent surfaces thereof to eflfectuate the aforementioned engagement of said friction knees with the conductors of such panels.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 in which the respectively adjacent surfaces of the contact blocks are angularly oriented with respect to each other so that the printed wire panels received therebetween diverge from each other in a direction away from said blocks.

12. In apparatus of the character described, a contact block provided with a plurality of spaced apart, parallel channels extending thereacross, each of said channels terminating at the ends thereof in open slots, and each channel increasing in depth toward one end thereof, an elongated spring contact in each of said channels and being provided with a turned end portion adapted to engage a conductor pattern on a coded card, said turned V 7 end porticm oi eaphuof saidpont aptsbeingdisposed; in

sfii drporticn ofsaidqhanncl having saidrinor'eawsedr depth thereby to afford relatively free deflecfidnflf the Contact,

at the "othr ends thereof being dipqse'd for connction with "the'conductors of mi electric circuit.

References Cited --in lthc fikd'of :this patent 

